Lincoln rejoiced at the triumph of Grant and Foote. When the news arrived and someone jubilantly suggested “let’s have a drink,” the teetotaling president drolly responded: “All right bring in some water.” Informed that the victory had been achieved with the help of many Illinois troops, he remarked: “I cannot speak so confidently about the fighting qualities of the Eastern men, … but this I do know—if the Southerners think that man for man they are better than our Illinois men, or western men generally, they will discover themselves in a grievous mistake.”
Source: Abraham Lincoln ∶ A Life ▫𓂃